Beaubourg [Import]

Track Listings

1. Beaubourg, Part I

2. Beaubourg, Part II

Beaubourg,Vangelis,Bmg Int'l,Neo-Classical,New Age / Meditation,Progressive Electronic

Beaubourg [Import]

Tracks:

Beaubourg, Pt. 1
Beaubourg, Pt. 2

Average customer rating:

Not for Everyone but an Underrated Gem
Contractual obligation?
Warning to Die-hard fans!!!!
Beware
Vangelis At His Most Experimental.

Beaubourg
Vangelis
Manufacturer: Windham Hill Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

Electronic | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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Mask
China
Spiral
Albedo 0.39
Dragon/Hypothesis

ASIN: B000000NN5
Release Date: 1997-04-29

Tracks:

Beaubourg Part I
Beaubourg Part II

Customer Reviews:

Not for Everyone but an Underrated Gem.......2006-11-03

This was my introduction to Vangelis Papathanassou in the late 70s. My cousin had this album in his collection and I loved the cover which was different from the green abstraction shown but was a photo of a sculpture. I didnt know anything about the melodic asian motifs of "China" or the grandiose chamber music of "Heaven and Hell", previous albums.

"Beaubourg" is anything but melodic, harmonic or rhythmic. It's very 20th Century Modern created with a synth (Yamaha CS-80, I believe). To most people it may sound like a series of blips and bleep, but I can here meanings that Vangelis himself may not even have heard. Everyone I know who likes it, hears something different. The closest Vangelis has come to returning to this style is on "Invisible Connections" (1985) and given his success with New Age music and soundtracks, he's probably way too busy to be bothered with these "flights of fancy". But if your fan of serialism, Morton Subotnik, John Cage or any of the experimental 20th century composers, I suggest you give this a listen.

Contractual obligation?.......2005-03-08

I've never been able to figure this out. It's not my least favourite Vangelis album (Heaven and Hell is) but it's not my favourite either (Albedo, Spiral, and China are). It's either a contractual obligation album to meet his obligations to RCA before downgrading to another label that produced vastly inferior pressings. Or it's a serious work of art. Or it's a bit of fun.

To me it sounds like he just bought a new synth and sat at home recording it (in mono) while he experimented to see what it could do. He then took the resulting tape into the studio, edited it, added echo and reverb, and panned the mono signal around to make it interesting. It certainly shows off the sonic capabilities of the analogue synth.

I like to listen to it now and again. I like to imagine what some of the snippets would have been like if he'd fully developed them.

If you like his post-Chariots stuff, you'll probably not like this. If you like his more creative early stuff, I think you might. My advice is to try before you buy.

Warning to Die-hard fans!!!!.......2004-04-10

In my opinion this album is fantastic, however I want to warn those of you who are die-hard fans of Vangelis, looking to purchase this album.

DO NOT purchase the newer CD's released on Wyhdham Hill records, the master used to make the CD was messed up and there are subtle errors in the speed of the recording (kinda like when your answering machine tape gets messed up and has a section or two where it speeds up really fast or slows down).
If quality is important to you, I strongly suggest that you purchase only the vynyl or the earlier CD's with the RCA label on them. Sure, the album may have a lot of random surrealness to it, but if you are switching from vynyl/tape to CD, it can be a bit jarring when you hear the errors. For those who have never heard the album, it may not be noticable.
Beyond that it is one of my favorite Vangelis albums. It's randomness and unregulated "noise" has earned it top position in my collection for relaxation music/sounds

Beware.......2003-12-02

Beware! This album is not even close to being a masterpiece like El Greco, Bladerunner, Chariots of Fire, and many more fan favorites. But don't let this album scare you.

Whenever you listen to his music, you can pretty much sing along to his tune or beat and the same time visually paint a picture in your mind - that's Vangelis's formula of success.

Beaubourg does not apply to this formula at all. There is no beat or chorus. You hear crazy synthesizer noises and repetitive bleeps...after a while the music blends to something else which is hard to describe. I thought this was a neat sound effect. Maybe there is a tune but its very faint and you REALLY have to have a keen sense of hearing. Vangelis challenges his die hard fans to listen to something radically different.

This strange music is only a skeleton of the work. It's incomplete. In other words, YOU have to provide your own thoughts and imagination to his strange music in order to get a complete grasp of what you're hearing. Beaubourg goes beyond the range of the ear and requires careful attention and maybe even meditation to really appreciate this album.

For example, whenever I listen to this album (Only my 3rd time), I like to picture strange insects or bizarre creatures.
The tracks are very long and repetitive. Sometimes even I can't take it any more and I lose my patience. I would immediately switch to something else worthy to listen to like 1492 or Bladerunner.

I recommend this album for the die-hard fans who want to explore every range of sound beyond what the ear is normally accustomed to hearing. Also check out "Invisible Connections" - very identical in music style to Beaubourg. Actually, its more bizarre! Hope this review helps out.

Vangelis At His Most Experimental........2003-11-21

"Beaubourg" is an album that is often misunderstood by avid Vangelis listeners. The album is either hailed as a masterpiece in one corner while in another corner, there's a barrage of booing and hissing. In all fairness, an album like "Beaubourg" had to be done. It's quite a unique album and is one of the few nonmelodic works in Vangelis's large catalog of music.
Essentially, "Beaubourg" is a single 38-minute work divided into two parts. If you listen to the album, you'll discover that the piece is divided into even shorter sub-movements. The piece consists mostly of random blips and bleeps along with some harsh metallic-like tones and the occasional singable melody. Musically, it's along the same lines as some of the early electronic music composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, Morton Subotnick and Pauline Olivieros. "Beaubourg" can even be comparable to Beatle George Harrison's Moog opus "Electronic Sound". It's quite possible that Vangelis used the above influences as a blueprint for this piece.
When the album was released in 1978, opinions were obivously divided however, "Beaubourg" has become somewhat of a cult classic over the years. I first heard the album in 1990 and still enjoy when I play it. While it's not Vangelis's greatest achievement, it still is one of his most daring pieces of music and is quite an earful to listen to. It's worth checking out but use extreme caution when doing so.
So far, Vangelis has only released one other album that can be comparable to "Beaubourg". That album is "Invisible Connection" released in 1985 on the German Classical label, Deutch Grammaphon.

Average customer rating:

Beaubourg
Vangelis
Manufacturer: Musicrama/Koch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000DXI8
Release Date: 1993-11-01